Home / News / Urgent Appeals / PHILIPPINES: A labour rights defender is murdered; police shoot two men in custody
 

PHILIPPINES: A labour rights defender is murdered; police shoot two men in custody

June 16, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-059-2009



17 June 2009
---------------------------------------------------------------------
PHILIPPINES: A labour rights defender is murdered; police shoot two men in police custody

ISSUES: Human rights defenders; extrajudicial killings
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Stop Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines
http://www.pinoyhr.net
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that officers who shot two men dead in custody have yet to be investigated or charged, and that the murder of a labour leader has not been properly looked into after a year.

CASE DETAILS: (According to information received from Philippine NGOs)

Case One: Alberto Ocampo and Jose Gonzales were killed on 29 April 2009. According to reports gathered by the Kilusan Para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD) Ocampo and his common-law-wife Imelda Zulueta were woken by the noise of stones being thrown at their house at around 2am. Voices shouted ‘Imelda, Axis lumabas kayo dyan. Alam naming andyan kayo, kapag di kayo lumabas ay papuputukan namin kayo’ (Imelda, Axis come outside. We know you are there. If you do not come out we will fire at you)’.

Ocampo, Zulueta and Jayson Valencia, a visitor at the house, emerged to find around ten policemen positioned around their house wearing camouflage uniforms and balaclavas. Their behavior—throwing stones at that time of the morning—was already baffling to the three. They were told to lay face down on the ground, and one of the policemen hit Zulueta’s back and pushed her to the ground. She asked the policeman not to harm her because she was pregnant.

The policemen then began asking them for the whereabouts of someone called Axis. At this Jose Gonzales, who goes by that nickname and was visiting the couple, emerged from the house and was arrested, though not charged. He was in shorts, and was told that he had until the count of six to put on a T-shirt or he would be shot.

Gonzales told them that he had surrendered and asked that the case be settled according to Philippine law, adding that Zulueta and Ocampo were not involved. The police asked whether he had a gun and he replied: ‘Sir, matagal na akong nakapahinga, napadaan lang ako dito (Sir, I have not been active for a long time. I was just passing by)’. The police dragged him over to a tree and tied him to it. The police then dragged Ocampo to the same spot, and as Zulueta struggled to get to him a policeman told her: ‘Wag kang mag-alala, anuman ang gagawin namin sa dalawa ay mangyayari din sa iyo (Don’t worry, whatever we do for these two will also happen to you)'.

After a few minutes Zulueta heard several gun shots and saw other officers searching their house. They returned carrying a gun and a hand grenade and asked Valencia if they were his; he said they weren’t. At 5am the policemen allowed Zulueta to see Ocampo, who was already dead, lying close to their house next to Gonzales, also dead. She and Valencia were taken to a police station in Orani and on to Camp Tolentino where they were questioned and eventually released without charge.

Zulueta has filed a complaint with the regional office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) regarding the deaths of her husband and Gonzales but there has been no progress. She has received no news suggested that their deaths are being investigated.

Case Two: In another incident, labour leader Maximo Baranda was shot dead in front of his wife at their quarry site in Sitio Quarry, Purok 5, San Jose, Compostela on July 19, 2008. According to Nonoy Librado Development Foundation (NLDF) his wife Nida has reported that the four killers arrived at their workplace on two Yamaha DT model motorcycles. They pretended to be customers and asked the price of the sand and gravel, then shot him and fled the area.

Baranda suffered seven gunshot wounds to his body, one to the right portion of his head. Nida and her daughter, Maria Fe, immediately reported the incident to a local police station but have not received news of an investigation.

Nida said that her husband had been receiving threats to his life in connection with his work as the chairman of the Contractual United Workers Association (CUWA). The circumstances on how the threats were made have not been made clear so far. Baranda had been helping workers file complaints against the companies that fired them unjustly. It is believed that he was targeted due to this.

At the time of his death, Maximo had been advocating and helping contractual workers of a banana plantation company--the Fresh Banana Agricultural Corporation--to be taken on as regular employees. He was also involved in bringing cases of illegal dismissal and violations of labour standards before the National Labor Relation Commission (NLRC).


SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the concerned authorities requesting them thoroughly investigate these murders, and look into the delay in their investigation. The policemen involved in the murders of Alberto Ocampo and Jose Gonzales should be subjected to due process, fired and charged for their crimes.

The AHRC has also written letters to the United Nation Special Rapporteurs on extra-judicial, summary, or arbitrary executions and on the situation of human rights defenders

To support this appeal, please click here:


SAMPLE LETTER

Dear __________,

Re: PHILIPPINES: A labour rights defender is murdered; police shoot two men in police custody

Name of victims:
1.Alberto B. Ocampo, 36, tricycle driver
2. Jose Gonzales
Alleged perpetrators: Elements attached to the 303 Police Provincial Mobile Group (PPMG), Camp Tolentino, Balanga, Bataan, led by Police Officer 2 (P02) Ricardo Vinluan.
Date of incident: 29 April 2009 at 2am
Place of incident: Sitio Lati, Barangay Kaparangan, Orani, Bataan

Name of victim:
1. Maximo D. Baranda, 47, resident of Purok 6, Maputi, San Jose, Compostela; chairperson of the Contractual United Workers Association (CUWA) and a harvester for the Fresh Banana Agricultural Corporation. He also owned a business supplying sand and gravel for construction.
Alleged perpetrators: Four unidentified men on two Yamaha DT model motorcycles
Date of incident: 19 July 2008 at 1:30pm
Place of incident: Sitio Quarry, Purok 5, San Jose, Compostela

I am writing to draw your attention to the case of Alberto Ocampo and Jose Gonzales who were killed on April 2009 by police officers; and labour leader Maximo Baranda who was murdered by unknown attackers on July 2008. The AHRC is deeply concerned by the lack of progress made into the investigation and prosecution of these cases.

When police were arresting Ocampo, his common-law-wife Imelda Zulueta, and their visitors, Gonzales and Jayson Valencia, no explanation was given for their arrest. Two of the men were shot dead while in custody, tied to a tree

Complaints have already been filed before the regional office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR). However there has not been any progress with regard to the investigation of their case. The policemen who committed the murders, despite having been positively identified by Ocampo’s common-law-wife, have not been charged nor subjected to investigation.

Meanwhile it has been almost a year since the murder of Maximo D. Baranda, a labour rights defender and I am deeply disappointed by the lack of substantial progress into the investigation. Although Baranda’s wife witnessed the murder the perpetrators remain unidentified and at large.

The AHRC believes that Maximo’s murder is related to his work as a labour leader, and his practice of giving legal aid and practical help to workers dismissed from their jobs unfairly. He had no known enemies but had received threats, and the circumstances of his death fit the pattern of murder of hundreds of other human rights defenders in recent times.

The victim’s wife Nida and their daughter, Maria Fe immediately reported his murder at their local police station, but have received no new information regarding the case.

The Philippines is becoming notorious for extra-judicial killing, particularly among its law enforcers. The police and the military in particular are becoming better known for their vigilante-style punishments than their ability to uphold the law and follow due process. This was aptly pointed out in last years’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s which recommended among other things, that it ‘intensify its efforts to carry out investigation and prosecution on extra-judicial killings and punish those responsible’

Whether a person is a potential criminal, an outspoken journalist or a human rights defender, under Philippine law their rights are necessarily the same. But such rights – to life, to due process, to the freedom of speech and the freedom of association – are becoming obsolete

I therefore strongly urge you to intervene and expedite the investigation into these cases. The policemen involved in arresting and killing Alberto Ocampo and Jose Gonzales should be subjected to due process, fired and charged for their crimes. The unacceptable delays in this investigation should be investigated and steps taken to prevent such delays in the future. The complainant and witnesses to this case must also be given protection.

I also demand that the police investigating Baranda’s murder explain their lack of progress on the case to his family, and continue to regularly update them regarding their renewed efforts to find the perpetrators.

Yours sincerely,


-------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph

2. Ms. Leila De Lima
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: chr.delima@yahoo.com or mtm_rodulfo@yahoo.com

3. Deputy Director General Jesus A. Verzosa
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2724 8763
Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
E-mail: bluetree73@gmail.com

4. Ms. Agnes Devanadera
Acting Secretary
Department of Justice (DoJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: raulgonzalez_doj@yahoo.com

5. Mr. Ronaldo V. Puno
Secretary
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
A. Francisco Gold Condominium II
EDSA cor. Mapagmahal St., Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 925 0332
Tel: +63 2 925 0330 / 31
E-mail: rvpuno@dilg.gov.ph


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

 

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-059-2009
Countries :
Campaigns :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.